c. 2500 - Now the Bronze Age, and the use of multiple-chambered tombs, begins. Silbury Hill, the largest man-made mound in Europe, has also started development. The "Beaker Folk" (named because of pottery beakers found) start utilizing single burial sites, unlike other Bronze Age groups.

c. 2500-1500 - Most of Britain's stone circles were constructed during this time. To read specifically onStonehenge, click here.

c. 2300 - Avebury Henge, the largest of Britain's stone circles, is built.

c. 2000 - Metal objects are created throughout Britain at this time, sometimes copper, sometimes copper and tin (which makes Bronze) and sometimes with arsenic thrown in. Pins and fasteners included in the "grave goods" (what people buried with the dead) give evidence of the use of woven cloth. The inner ring of blue stones at Stonehenge is erected at this time. This is also around the time when the Bronze Age came to Ireland. Click here to learn more about Bronze-Age Ireland.

c. 1800-1200 - Cultural control starts to shift from religious leaders to metal manufacturers. First influx of Celts from the mainland; these are Halstatt culture Celts versus the Le Tene Celts of the Iron Age.

In Scotland, there is a deterioration in climate leading to the development of peat bogs in the uplands.

c. 1500 - Communal Farms, with houses separated from the fields by walls, start to become prevalent in Devon and the upper lands of Wales. Stone circles start to fall into disuse and burial mounds are no longer built. Fashion at this time dictated that people were to be buried in flat cemeteries or near older stone monuments.

c. 1200-1000 - It is the warrior class who at this point wielded the most power within Bronze Age societies, replacing local manufacturers' dominant position.

In Scotland, swords and shields are now manufactured and there is a marked increase of defensible sites.

*NEW An article on May 16, 2006 in The Scotsman shows that some of the changes in the cultural landscape may be related to geology. In 1156 BC there was a major volcanic eruption in Iceland, which lead to 18-20 years of no summer in Scotland. (The evidence for this climactic change comes from tree-rings. ) The population would have moved east, since there were no crops, etc with their current climate on the west coast. The pressure on the land and resources, and the stability of the non-migrant population, probably had a considerable impact on the development of a warrior class. The actual change to a warrior focused society is evident from a variety of archaeological evidence, influencing everything including jewelry design.

c. 1000 - Hillforts (earth works located on top of hills) along with farmsteads (the buildings and adjacent grounds of a farm) start to appear. There is an increased focus on ornamental goods.

c. 800 - The beginning of the first Celtic spread into the area

Silbury Hill

Traditions of Bronze Age PeoplesOne interesting habit was to dump large amounts of a person's valuables in bogs. No one has really figured out why. It could be they were grave goods, it could be they were parts of a sacrifice or it could be the bogs were just garbage dumps. Personally, I think it relates to sacrifice.

Stonehenge at dawn from within the circle

Now what is the big deal about Bronze?

Now are you wondering what is so special about Bronze to make it a new era? Well, learning about manipulating metal allowed the production of axes, daggers and other innovations. Imaging having to kill an animal for you and your family to eat. Although stone tools make these activities easier than bare hands, a knife or axe would make killing and dividing an animal that much easier again. Now that you have saved time to feed your family, you have enough free time to innovate.

Using the same techniques to make bronze, gold starts to be used for ornamentation.

Avebury Henge and the Red Lion Inn(The only B&B I know of located in the middle of a stone circle!)

How do you make bronze and what can you do with it?Bronze is a mixture of copper and, usually, tin. Early Bronze Age cultures tended to hollow out flat molds, to make axes or sheets of the metal to hammer into place.

As any Bronze Age progresses, they learned to make daggers and such by hollowing out 2 stones to put together, leaving a spot to pour in the hot metal.

Later on, a wax mould would be made of the desired figure, and clay placed on top of the wax. Once the clay had the desired shape, it was heated and the wax then melted away. The remaining clay mould was used for making bronze items, chipping it away once the cast was set. This is called The Lost Wax Technique.

I make a point of explaining this, because for years I heard the Lost Wax Technique referred to, but never described. I thought it was a technique that was lost, and couldn't understand how my teachers even knew to talk about it!

Late Bronze Age SitesBy the time you get to the Late Bronze Age (c. 1000 BC) the earlier stone megaliths were abandoned in favor of pit burials and throwing grave goods into rivers, springs and bogs. This implies that the religious focus in the area turned from Solar/Lunar based to Earth based.

Bronze Age Settlements

Circular timber houses begin to appear in Scotland during this time. By the later Bronze Age, settlements start to become enclosed, and thus defensable.

Equestrian equipment starts appearing in the Late Bronze Age, suggesting that horses were not domesticated until this time.